CHAPTER FIVE
The girls hurried to do what she asked of them, then Lexi began to skate around the rink. It was a full-size rink, so there was plenty of room for her to build up the speed necessary for the jump combination she wanted to perform.
The triple Axel-triple loop combination was one of the more difficult combinations she did, but she’d practiced hard to get it to where it was reliable. It wasn’t just a combination they put into a program and then she’d cross her fingers and hope she’d land both. She landed them with a high level of consistency.
In reality, her favorite jump was a throw triple loop. Flying through the air was an amazing feeling. And landing was even better. But that wasn’t an option that day.
After taking enough strokes to get up to the speed she needed, Lexi launched herself into the air, spinning the three and half rotations required for the Axel. Then, after landing on one foot, she immediately jumped up into a triple loop.
When she landed, she held the glide, then she skated toward center ice and shifted into position to begin her spin. She decided on the Biellmann spin, which wasn’t one she did very often as a pairs skater, but she loved it, so she’d worked to perfect it. Grabbing the blade, she lifted her leg behind her into the air. The stretch felt good, as did the freedom of the motion.
She did the required eight rotations, then releasing the blade, she shifted into an upright spin, the speed increasing as she raised her arms above her head. When she lowered them after a few rotations, her speed slowed and finally, she came to a stop.
Applause quickly reminded her that it wasn’t just her and the girls at the rink. There was a temptation to bow to the people at the edge of the rink who were clapping. Instead, she just nodded in recognition of it as she skated to the girls.
“That was amazing,” Layla said. “I wish I could skate like that.”
“I skate like that because I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy to it,” Lexi told her. “When I was your age, I spent eight hours at the rink and at the gym. Some days I had ballet lessons.”
“Didn’t you go to school?” Amelia asked.
Lexi shook her head. “I had a tutor who worked with me for two or three hours a day. The rest of my time was spent training.”
“Did you like it?” Layla asked.
“Some days I did. Other days, it was hard. But just like with anything you want in life, you have to work for it.”
“Thank you for showing us your jumps and spins,” Layla said. “And for teaching us.”
The three of them moved to the opening in the boards, and Lexi watched as Blake helped both girls to the bench, then knelt to take off their skates.
“That was great,” Wilder said from where he leaned against the boards. “You’re super talented.”
“Thanks.” Lexi wasn’t sure what more to say.
“The girls are never going to stop talking about this,” Kayleigh said as she joined them. “It’s not every day they get to take lessons from an Olympian.”
Lexi schooled her expression to keep from grimacing. As far as she was concerned, the fewer people who knew that about her, the better.
“Are you finding that the people coming to the rink are experienced skaters?” Hudson asked.
“Several have had enough experience that they were able to stay up on their blades. Others have needed more help. Especially the kids.”
“Are you open to more coaching?” Kayleigh asked. “I know you kind of did this as a favor to me.”
“The hours here at the rink make it a bit difficult. If it’s kids wanting lessons, I would only have Saturday and Sunday mornings available, since they’d be in school during the week.”
“Well, if it becomes too much to give the girls lessons, just let us know,” Charli said. She held an adorable baby facing out on her hip. The little girl looked at Lexi with big brown eyes while she chewed on her fist. “We really appreciate your willingness to do this much.”
“I think it’ll be fine. Do they have a place to practice during the week?” Lexi asked.
“We have a local rink that we can go to. Although, since both Blake and I work, we are limited in the time we have to take them there.”
Lexi remembered all the times her mom had gotten up early with her to go sit in the cold rink and watch Lexi work with Mik and the coaches. She had to remember that these girls weren’t able to devote the time or energy to skating like she had at their age.
“Any practice they get is good. Have they entered any competitions?”
Charli shook her head. “They’ve really just been learning the basics. Their other teacher wasn’t a choreographer.”
“Let me know if you’re interested in them competing,” Lexi said. “I could come up with programs for them.”
Charli glanced to where Blake was still down on one knee in front of the girls. They had their skates off and were listening to whatever he was saying.
“I’ll talk to Blake first and then the girls.”
“Competition could be good for them,” Wilder said.
“What do you mean?” Charli asked.
“I think Jay and Cole benefited from being on the basketball team in high school.”
“But they were aiming for the NBA,” Charli said with a frown. “I don’t think either of the girls plans to be in the Olympics.”
“Not everyone who competes has the Olympics as a goal,” Lexi said. “There are lower-level competitions that they can enter. Competing can help them learn to accept the good and the bad. To understand that some days they’re better able to stay on their blades than others.”
“I just don’t want them to get upset if they don’t win.”
“Let them get upset,” Wilder said with a shrug. “It will either make them buck up and work harder or they’ll decide that skating isn’t for them. Even among the best, there can be only one winner. Right, Alexandra?”
Lexi gave a nod. “And the ones who don’t win aren’t losers, especially if they’ve skated to the best of their abilities.”
Wilder grinned at her. “How many times did you lose if you skated to the best of your ability?”
“Once we reached seniors? Never. If our program was flawless, we won.”
“That’s amazing,” Charli said. “I can’t imagine the work it took to get to that level.”
“A lot. Skating was my life.”
“It still is, isn’t it?” Kayleigh asked.
Kayleigh truly had no idea how ludicrous that statement was, but Lexi couldn’t fault the woman for it. Unless someone was a high-level athlete or was involved with one, they would be unaware of how different her current life was from before. This version of skating was one she never would have wanted.
“I’m still very involved in skating,” Lexi said in lieu of letting Kayleigh know how this current chapter of her life differed from her competing chapter.
Layla and Amelia came over to the boards with Blake trailing them. When he joined them, he slid his arm around Charli.
“Thank you for the lesson,” Layla said.
Lexi gave her a smile. “You’re very welcome.”
“Will you give us more lessons?” Layla asked. “Mom said that we would see what you said after our first one.”
Lexi hadn’t thought to turn down doing the lessons. It wasn’t how she’d imagined coaching, but it was something to help fill her time, and the lesson had gone as well as she could have hoped. There was no reason not to continue with the lessons.
“Sure. I’m fine with that.”
Layla’s smile was beaming. “And I want to learn a program.”
“We can work on that too,” Lexi assured her. “But maybe not right away. Let’s get used to each other first, then we’ll start looking at putting together a program for each of you.”
Shiloh let out a wail, distracting everyone as they all turned to look at her.
“Guess that’s our cue to head for home,” Charli said. “We’ve missed her morning nap.”
“Maybe next time you don’t all have to come,” Kayleigh said.
“I know. But we enjoy watching the girls skate.”
Blake took the fussing baby from Charli and carried her to where the car seat sat on the bench. He bent to strap her in while Charli talked to Lexi about payment for the lessons.
Lexi had no idea what to charge. If she’d been coaching someone with high level competitive goals, she could have charged more. But that wasn’t the case with these girls.
After hearing what their previous teacher had charged them, Lexi wasn’t sure what to say. Thankfully, Kayleigh stepped in. “Charli, I’ll talk it over with Alexandra and let you know.”
Frowning, Charli said, “Just remember that… well…”
Kayleigh reached out and put a hand on her sister’s arm. “I know. Trust me.”
Charli stared at her for a long moment before nodding. “Let me know what we owe you, and I’ll pay right away.”
“Okay.”
When everyone had their jackets on, they said goodbye and left the building. Everyone except Wilder.
“Are you waiting for a lesson too?” Lexi asked.
Wilder’s eyebrows rose as he grinned, making his eyes sparkle with humor. “Would you give me one?”
“I’ve never coached adults.”
“I’m pretty good at following instructions.”
“Have you ever skated before?”
“Yep. Hockey.”
Lexi rolled her eyes, not sure why she wasn’t sending this guy on his way. “That’s not going to help you.”
“At least I know how to stay on the blade.”
“Did you bring skates?” she asked, curious if he had planned to skate all along.
“Yep. My hockey skates.”
“No toe picks, but I guess you’re not going to be picking into jumps just yet.”
Wilder’s grin grew. “Be right back.”
As he went to the bench where his duffle bag waited, Lexi wondered if she’d lost her mind. She didn’t exactly trust the easygoing smiles and attitude that Wilder displayed.
And why would he want to spend time with her? Did he want the inside scoop on her past?
That wasn’t going to happen. She spoke to no one about the details of what had happened to her family. A lot of it had been paraded out for public consumption during her dad’s trial, but there had been plenty of stuff going on behind the scenes with her life as a result of everything that she’d never shared with anyone.
As she waited for Wilder to join her on the ice, Lexi moved away from the boards and circled the ice, crossing over her skates with ease as she circled around the far end.
When Wilder stepped onto the ice, she came to a stop a couple of yards from him.
“Show me what you can do,” she told him.
Another flash of his grin and he was off. The man might not have jumps and spins, but he certainly had speed. He had spent more than a little time on skates at some point in his life.
After he’d done a couple of laps around the ice, he called out, “Wanna race?”
Lexi stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if she had a chance. He had several inches on her, so his strokes would be longer and more powerful. She wasn’t slow on her skates, however.
“Our size difference gives you a definite advantage,” she pointed out. “How do you think a race could be fair? I’m not a speedskater.”
Wilder seemed to give her question serious consideration. “I’m not just out to prove I can beat a woman. How about we do spins, then skate?”
“You know how to spin?”
“I think so.”
“Okay.”
Lexi wasn’t sure why she was even entertaining his suggestions. He was a complete stranger to her. She should have just said she didn’t have the time and gone to her office.
Apparently, she was missing interaction with others more than she had realized. She’d just assumed because she’d had no friends beyond Mik and her coaches that she didn’t need friendships. Maybe what she didn’t need was a lot of friends, and what she did need was a small circle of close friendships.
Not that she planned to start up a friendship with someone like Wilder. She’d heard about Wilder even before meeting him, since Trev had mentioned him when he told her about the members of the recreation department.
He was only in Serenity for the winter ski season, then he was off flitting around the world for the rest of the year. Definitely not what she needed in a friend.
After discussing the number of rotations needed before they could skate, she and Wilder took up their positions. At his prompt, they began to spin.
Lexi quickly finished her rotations and set off down the ice. She’d rounded the short end of the ice just as Wilder finished his spin. He definitely looked a little wobbly as he tried to pick up some speed. She lapped him, then turned backwards, watching as he finally found his footing.
They had only planned on one lap, so she’d already won, but she could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he wasn’t going to stop after just a single lap. Turning, she put on a burst of speed, her thigh muscles burning with the sudden demand.
Unfortunately, Wilder had regained his equilibrium and made quick work of passing her. He beat her back to their starting point and was waiting with yet another broad grin on his face.
“I won,” she announced, because she really couldn’t bear to lose at anything.
“That you did,” Wilder agreed between deep breaths. “I think we should call it a draw, however.”
“Why?” she demanded. “The race parameters were spin, then skate a lap. You can’t change things at the last minute.”
“You’re right.” Wilder crossed his arms as he skated backward and forward, crossing and uncrossing his skates on the ice. “My fragile ego, though…”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I have a feeling your ego is just fine. After all, you did prove that in a straight race, you’d win.”
“I just don’t understand how you figure skaters can spin like that and then still skate in a straight line.”
“It takes practice,” Lexi said.
“Are you planning to stick around Serenity long-term?” Wilder asked, taking her off-guard with the switch of subject.
It wasn’t something she’d thought a lot about. The plan she’d had for her life was gone, and she hadn’t figured out what her new one should be.
Could she be happy coaching kids in a small town like Serenity? Or would she be forever discontent because she couldn’t be involved with the sport at the high level she wanted to be?
She’d already accepted that it was unlikely that anyone with Olympic aspirations would ever hire her. Her past meant she came with a lot of baggage and distractions.
“I haven’t decided yet.” That was at least halfway true, although it made it sound like she had options, which, unfortunately, she didn’t feel she did. “I’m here for now.”
Wilder’s smile widened. “That you are.”
She really didn’t know what to make of Wilder. Most of the men who had been in her life had been very intense. Her dad. Mikhail. Her coach. They’d all been men who focused intently on things and were never lighthearted the way Wilder seemed to be.
Did that mean he didn’t take anything seriously?
Even if she’d wanted to be more relaxed, Lexi had no idea how to be that way. All her life, everything was serious. Her fitness. Her health. Her diet. Her outfits. Her skating. She would have never done with Mik what she’d just done with Wilder.
She and Mik had never been ones to skate to lighthearted music. The closest they’d come was the program they’d been preparing for the Olympics. It had been a selection of songs that, at the time, Lexi had thought represented their romance.
They’d had programs that focused on love before, but they’d been dramatic and often had tragic endings. That new program had been the one where it would have ended happily for once. Only she wasn’t destined for her happily ever after. On the ice or off.
Wilder stopped his figure eights at the point closest to Lexi. “Hope we didn’t overwhelm you today with all of us showing up.”
“It was fine.” If she could skate in front of crowds of thousands or tens of thousands, she could handle a small family group.
“We Halversons can be a lot for some people,” he said. “Particularly when there are more than one or two of us.”
“That wasn’t all of you today?”
“Nope. This wasn’t even half of us.”
Lexi felt her brows lift before she could stop them. “Big family.”
“Yep. There are ten of us kids, but the family is growing as spouses and children come into the picture.”
“I bet reunions are a blast.”
“Most of them are,” Wilder agreed. “We’re mainly all together for weddings or Christmas, and since my mom has put her foot down that there will be no squabbling at any of those events, we’re forced to get along.”
Lexi was blown away at the idea of so many people in one family. Like, why would people want that many children? She was pretty sure that had her parents had more than her, she wouldn’t have had the chance to skate competitively the way she had.
“You don’t have to worry about us all showing up here, however,” Wilder said. “Three of the ten don’t even live in Serenity at the moment.”
Which meant that seven of them could still arrive to watch the girls’ lessons. Seven plus spouses and children.
Whatever. It still wasn’t an arena full of people.
“They need to come when the rink is officially open. Then they could have coffee and food.”
“Trying to drum up business for the resort.” Wilder nodded his head. “Kayleigh would definitely appreciate that.”
“Are you always this way?” Lexi asked.
Wilder tilted his head. “Which way?”
“Kind of flippant about everything?”
“I’m not flippant,” he protested. “Just because I don’t take everything seriously doesn’t mean that I dismiss everything, either. In this case, that was a little poke at my sister. She can be too serious about stuff sometimes, so I try to lighten things up for her.”
“So you think she can be too focused or too intense?” If he thought Kayleigh was that way, he was definitely going to think Lexi was that way, too.
Wilder waggled his hand back and forth in front of him. “Kayleigh has always been very determined. She knew what she wanted in her life from a pretty young age, and she’s worked hard to accomplish it. We’re very proud of her, but we also know she needs a little balance in her life. She’s learned to accept that we’re going to help her out with that on occasion. Now that she’s married Hudson, though, she’s a little more likely to leave work at the door and let her hair down and have some fun.”
Lexi would have thought that talking more to the man would help her understand him, but it seemed the opposite was happening. The more he talked, the less she could make of his personality, even though he didn’t appear to be holding any part of himself back.
Her smart watch buzzed, forcing her to put her musings on hold. She glanced down to see a reminder that the rink would be opening in twenty minutes since they opened at eleven on Saturdays and Sundays. It wasn’t like she’d lose track of time, but just in case she did…
“The rink is going to open soon.” She pushed off with one foot in the direction of the exit off the ice. “I need to get ready.”
Wilder followed her, then went to the bench. Lexi slipped the guards on her blades since she would keep them on for the time being. Taking her skates off when she didn’t need to, and then having to put them on again was a waste of time.
“Thanks for letting me hang out for a bit,” Wilder said as he put his skates in the duffle bag. “I enjoyed a reason to get back on the ice.”
“I’m sure Trev would let you use the rink whenever you wanted,” Lexi said.
“Probably. But this was more fun.” He headed toward the door, walking backwards. “I’ll see you around.”
Lexi knew that was true. She just wasn’t sure she knew how to handle having even a tiny bit of his upbeat lightheartedness in her life.